Friday, March 31, 2017

In the Market Report by Marilyn Kirschner

What better way to mark April Fool’s Day, than by celebrating the art of trompe l’oeil which literally translates to “fools the eye”? Is there a better time than now, to be tickled by its inherent whimsy and humor?Trompe l'oeil is the art of creating the illusion of a 3rd dimension. Though it originated as a painting technique in Greece and Rome, and has been used decoratively in home furnishings throughout the ages, it has also been applied to clothing and accessories. It is meant to describe something which appears to have detailing, such as a belt, a tie, a pocket, or a complete garment, that is actually just drawn on, knitted in or printed on.

Schiaparelli trompe l'oeil bow tie sweater 1928

Elsa Schiaparelli was the first designer to utilize trompe l'oeil in her designs in the 20's and 30's.

Hermes trompe l'oeil

In Spring 1952, Hermes created a group of trompe l’oeil sweaters, dresses, and raincoats.

Hermes trompe l'oeil coat in 1952 photo

They were photographed by the famed Gordon Parks and appeared in Life Magazine.

Vintage Roberta di Camerino trompe l'oeil dress

Roberta di Camerino popularized this style in the 60's and 70’s with her clothing, bags, scarves, men's ties, and umbrellas. Designed by the late Giuliana Camerino, they remain collector’s items and, like this vividly printed maxi t-shirt dress, are available from time to time. More info/purchase

Christian Francis Roth

In the 90’s, Christian Francis Roth made us all smile with his quirky, playful trompe l'oeil suits and dresses. His ‘Christmas Lights’ dress is for sale at Resurrection Vintage. More info/purchase

Comme des Garcons

Who could forget Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garcons Fall 2009 “Wonderland” ready-to-wear collection? To best illustrate her point that “nothing is as it seems”, Rei drew outlines of jackets onto the fronts of a number of pieces and sketched naked toes on the front of menswear inspired flat loafers and oxfords. I’d be surprised if some of these are not included in her upcoming Costume Institute exhibition. Coincidentally, there is a version currently for sale on EBay. More info/purchase

Moschino trompe l'oeil printed black satin dress

Franco Moschino had a history of using trompe l’oeil, and for the Moschino Spring 2017 ready-to-wear collection, Jeremy Scott (now head of design) added his own cheeky versions, including this trompe l’oeil satin dress superimposed with a bra and underpants. More info/purchase

Gucci

This Gucci trompe l’oeil cape was right at home in Alessandro Michele’s eccentric Fall 2016 ready-to-wear collection and it’s still currently available to purchase. More info/purchase

Thom Browne satin trompe l'oeil tuxedo dress

Perhaps the most notable examples come from Thom Browne’s trompe l’oeil filled Spring 2017 ready-to-wear collection. All of his one piece dresses were made to look like three, four, or five piece suits (complete with shirt, vest, jacket, tie in some cases). Among the items currently for sale: Trompe l’oeil tuxedo silk satin dress More info/purchase

Last but not least, are these fabulous Stuart Weitzman “Hands Up” black satin evening pumps. Dating from the mid 2000’s, the three inch heels are covered with Swarovski pave crystal hands with perfectly manicured red nails and sporting emerald cut diamond rings set in yellow “gold”. Marked size 6 ½ they ensure you will make both a grand entrance and grand exit. More info/purchase

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New York Market Reports

Marilyn Kirschner our editor-in-chief and former senior Market Editor of Harper's Bazaar for many years reports on the Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer New York collections for every season going back over 15 years. These kinds of reports are found no where else and are offered free to our readers. Additional past commentary was written for us by Bernadine Morris the former senior fashion writer of the New York Times.
Click here for the latest fall/winter 2018 report and links to all the other past reports..

About Me

Lookonline.com is the longest publishing online fashion site in the world. It was launched first as a BBS service in 1993 and has been on the Internet since December 1994. The DFR: Daily Fashion report is also the first fashion blog and was started in early 2002 as the site's main news page. Before launching the site, I was for many years a New York fashion photographer.